Unreachable
by raiithel
Summary: From strangers to best friends, Mikan fell in love with Natsume. She wanted to tell him but she can't because of Natsume's circumstances. They might lose their friendship and Natsume was already having a hard time choosing between two girls. Will Mikan tell her feelings for her unreachable love? -hiatus- may contain out of character-ness
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice (Eng: Alice Academy)**

****This fan fiction/story is purely fictional. Any scenes written related to anyone or anything is purely coincidental. It does not aim to mock, hurt or any of the like. If it were related to anyone, it would only be related to the author (raiithel). Thank you.**

**For maximum understanding of the flow of the story, reading everything and not skipping words/paragraphs is advised. Misreading of some paragraphs might get you confused.**

**WARNING: This story contains foul language.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

MIKAN SAKURA walked casually on the sidewalk with her backpack hanging on one shoulder. It was the start of summer in Japan. It's the best season to go to the beach, eat ice cream or simply just stay at home and be lazy. For Mikan, it's the best season to do all that. She planned to go to an ice cream parlor and buy two liters of ice cream for her and her mom before heading back home. She went in the parlor and bought a liter of strawberry and vanilla flavored ice cream that was neatly placed inside a plastic bag contained in a gold tin container. When she got home, her mother greeted her with a bright smile.

"Hi mom! I bought ice cream for you." Mikan smiled at her mother.

Yuka and Mikan Sakura share the same features. They are often mistaken as sisters because of the resemblance in their attitude when they are together. They weren't rich but Yuka gives what Mikan wants at the same time disciplines her. After her husband passed away, she's been both the father and the mother of the household and works as for the government.

"Place it on the table, dear. I'll finish preparing dinner first." Yuka returned to the kitchen. Mikan could smell the faint scent of the Cordon Bleu's sauce in the main hall of their house. She placed the bag of ice cream on the table near the counter. Mikan went to her room on the second floor and immediately changed her uniform to her normal house clothes. She heard her mother call her for dinner just when she was about to take a step down the stairs. From half way down the staircase, she smelled a fragrant aroma that she recognized. She peeked at the doorway and saw Cordon Bleu with sauce and boneless barbecue on the table. A smile crept up her face and she sat down on one of the chairs and waited for her mother to sit down before she can dig in her mom's delicious cooking.

"Dig in, dear" Yuka smiled at her. In response, Mikan placed an incredible amount of rice on her plate with a piece of Cordon Bleu and barbecue. Yuka sat down on the opposite side of her and got a serving spoon full of rice on her plate and ate less than Mikan. She started a conversation.

"By the way, dear, Tsubasa called earlier—" Yuka informed her. Mikan looked at her with a look that says 'what did he say'. Yuka continued without looking at her daughter "—He said you should meet him tomorrow morning at eight in that bakery at the corner of the street."

Mikan could only do so much as a nod with her mouth full with rice and barbecue. After dinner, she helped her mom clean up the table and washed the dished so her mom can rest early. It's summer vacation for her but for her mom it's just summer. After cleaning up, she rushed to her bedroom and opened her laptop. She opened her Facebook account. As soon as she was online, her friends immediately chatted with her. One of her friends, Nonoko, kept calling her and said that she has something to tell her.

Mikan clicked on Nonoko's name and asked her: "What is it Nonoko?"

Nonoko immediately replied: "Tsubasa's being weird. He said he wants a survey tomorrow at eight a.m. and he doesn't want us late."

Mikan: What? A survey? Is THAT why he needs us for tomorrow?

Nonoko: Yeah… I think so. I wonder why he wants a survey tomorrow when he can just ask us to do his survey now.

With that, Mikan clicked on Tsubasa's name and talked to him.

Mikan: Hey Tsubasa!

Tsubasa: Yeah?

Mikan: Nonoko said you're gonna do a survey tomorrow. Why not NOW?

Tsubasa: It's… special. Besides, it's not a written survey.

Mikan arched a brow and typed: Oh… then what is it?

Tsubasa: You'll know tomorrow :D

The next day, Mikan got up early and took a shower. She wore a peach tank top and black high waist shorts and peach colored Vans-branded shoes. She also wore her hair in a ponytail. Since her mom was already out, she took the keys of the house with her and locked the door. Taking her skateboard with her, she road down several blocks to the said meeting place. From a distance, she can see the figures of her friends. When she arrived, she noticed that only the girls of their group were there and Tsubasa was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Tsubasa?" she asked them.

Anna, a girl with pink curly hair shrugged, "We don't know. And it's quarter to eight."

Nonoko nodded, "Yeah... I hope this isn't a prank he made or I'll kick him so hard that—!" she was halted by a familiar voice. They all turned to see Tsubasa, "Hey guys!" he flashed a grin at them.

Mikan stepped forward, "So what's the deal Tsubasa?"

Hotaru looked at her wristwatch, "Hurry up Andou. I'm in a very tight schedule." She said with a stoic expression.

"Okay so here's the thing—" Tsubasa started, "My friend will be here in a couple of minutes and I'll be conducting the survey. The one you'll be examining will be—" he was cut off by a car's approach and someone goes out. It was a tall man with raven locks and crimson eyes. The guy seems to be from a wealthy family by the way he's dressed.

"Hey, Andou." The guy called.

Tsubasa waved and smiled at him, "You're here! I was just about to tell the girls."

The guy brushed his raven hair back coolly and glanced at the girls. Tsubasa held on his friend's shoulder and introduced him, "Guys, I'd like you to meet Natsume Hyuuga."

Mikan looked at the wealthy looking boy and then at Tsubasa, "Okay Tsubasa, what's—" she was cut off by Anna and Nonoko. They shook her a bit but their grip was digging in her flesh as if a thick coil of rope was squeezing her arms. _It hurts._

"So guys, he'll be the one you're gonna examine. I'll ask a question and tell me what your opinions are." Tsubasa explained. The girls could only nod except for Hotaru.

"So," Tsubasa started, "What do you think about Natsume? Is he handsome or what?" he asked with a wide grin.

Mikan's jaw dropped, "What? You just called us last night and ask us to wake up very early in the morning just for THIS?" while Anna and Nonoko simultaneously replied, "HOT!" and as for Hotaru, she just shrugged and left with her motorbike from the area because she has to attend an important meeting.

Left alone as the sanest girl, Mikan looked at Tsubasa, "What's the use of this survey?"

Tsubasa smiled, "It's actually a poll but whatever. It's for a given research. You see, my professor has a _huge_ crush on Natsume and she wants us to research on him and I guess, prove that Natsume _is_ the hottest guy to ever walk in this land." He laughed.

She almost gave herself the most epic facepalm. A professor can sometimes give the _craziest_, most _insane_ ideas for a research paper. God, what the hell is the subject of this _insane_ professor? Mikan mentally facepalmed herself just thinking about how little sanity that being has. _Some people just want to watch the world burn._

Mikan let out an abrupt sigh and crossed her arms and looks at Tsubasa's friend and looks back at him without so much as an expression, "He looks okay. Probably more human looking than your professor." She said.

Tsubasa blinked at her and let out a hearty laugh, "I'll disregard the last part. My professor might kill me." He giggled, "Okay, Natsume, you can go now. Sorry for asking you to go here at a very early time." Tsubasa turned to his friend and apologized. From the stoic expression his friend has, he seems he doesn't even care about being told to go there very early… or is it just his way of repressing his anger?

Anna and Nonoko just couldn't stop staring at Natsume. They almost didn't blink as if they'd miss something special if they did. Mikan looked at her friends then at the Natsume guy and scanned his face, his flawless face and those mysterious crimson orbs. She saw a small glisten in his eyes. His eyes showed little... loneliness? Then it disappeared and his eyes showed apathy. Was he always like that? Was he always that expressionless? What does he look like when he laughs as hard as Tsubasa did? Does he—wait! Why is she suddenly interested? The guy looks like an apathetic kind of person! Why the hell is she suddenly interested in what he looks like? Mikan scratched her head in irritation. Then she looked back at Natsume whose body was already half in the car. After saying goodbye, he left. Anna and Nonoko immediately shook Tsubasa about Natsume. They asked about his basic information but Tsubasa shook his head and hands and told them that Natsume will slowly and painfully murder him if he tells them. No female outsider of his circle of friends has known where he lives. He was really mysterious.

Mikan shrugged and stepped on her skateboard and waved at them, "I'm gonna go. I have to go shopping for lunch and dinner. See you guys!" she said and rode along the sidewalk to the hypermarket. As she was on her way, she didn't realize she kept thinking about Natsume. He looks handsome for other women but why isn't he that well known? How come she hasn't seen him or even heard of him? And what's that she saw earlier? Was it loneliness? Was he lonely despite that he's wealthy and good-looking? Questions were kept throwing in her mind until she got home.

**END OF CHAPTER 1**

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**Announcement:**

**Chapter 2 will be available soon. Succeeding chapters are on hiatus. Updates may be slow due to the load of work given to the author. Please be patient. –laughs- remember that I am a college student and I'm not the best but I AM doing my best to update. Sometimes I need inspiration to write because if I don't, the plot may get out of line and I'll get confused. So please be patient.**

**About the flames (criticism), is appreciated. But please don't be too harsh on me xD I get discouraged when I'm in the 'mood' and delete the whole story.**

**You can ask me questions if you don't understand what just happened or comment if you liked it or not. Also, don't forget to rate (no, there are no stars to click). Just tell me what score you're giving this chapter in scale of one to ten.**

**Thesaurus:**

**Apathy -**

**Meaning: **_**indifference**_

**Synonyms: **_**indifference; lethargy; laziness; boredom; ennui; droopiness; dispiritedness; lack of concern; lack of interest.**_

**Antonym: **_**Interest**_

**Did I miss anything (from letters down to the thesaurus)? Mistakes (spelling, grammar)? If I did, do tell me. I will acknowledge and revise the chapter to correct the mistake/s for future readers.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice (Eng: Alice Academy)**

****This fan fiction/story is purely fictional. Any scenes written related to anyone or anything is purely coincidental. It does not aim to mock, hurt or any of the like. If it were related to anyone, it would only be related to the author (raiithel). Thank you.**

**For maximum understanding of the flow of the story, reading everything and not skipping words/paragraphs is advised. Misreading of some paragraphs might get you confused.**

**WARNING: This story contains foul language.**

**CHAPTER 2**

THE HOT gentle breeze caressed her skin. It was already summer. It was hot and dry outside that anyone can cook eggs on a frying pan and place it outside under the bright burning sun. As the minute passed by, Mikan began to turn restlessly. The heat was getting into her. Thinking that her mom had already gone in to get her basket of dirty clothes, she lazily got up with eyes closed. As she went across her room, she raised her hand as if the gravity has suddenly gotten stronger to reach the electric fan. And when her hand touched the frame of the fan, she slowly opened her eyes and sought the buttons. She saw that the maximum button was already pushed. Her eyes flung open and she almost strangled the blasted fan. The force of the wind was just as if someone was just gently blowing her skin. Realizing that it was pointless, she turned off the fan and headed for the shower.

If the fan doesn't blow off a cool breeze, at least the shower will drizzle her with ice-cold water that would refresh her. As soon as she took off all her clothes in the shower, she turned the shower knob. It was cold all right. But as seconds passed by, the ice-cold water turned to boiling hot. Mikan jumped away from the trajectory of the water and turned the knob again. She frowned. Summer wasn't the best of all the seasons. _None of the seasons are._

The whole street was silent and the only sound audible was the sound of the crickets made. Mikan got dressed herself with a white spaghetti strapped tank top and faded shorts and pulled her hair back to a ponytail. She went downstairs and went to the fridge and opened it and sat in front of it. _Oh the cold breeze! _It was such a nice feeling. Then, a thought suddenly came in to her mind. _How about going to the arcade?_ The thought sounded nice but her main problem was the heat. The umbrella wouldn't do so much under the blazing sun. Discarding the problem, she prepared herself. She grabbed her backpack and her skateboard and locked the door.

It was unbearable. The heat was exhausting enough and her eyes burned at the bright and sunny sight of the road. The umbrella didn't help much and her head felt hot. It wasn't fine until she rode for nine more blocks to the mall. After going through the security, she ate her breakfast at a local restaurant with layers of pancake and coffee as her beverage. After breakfast, she directly headed to the arcade. It was a nice feeling. The cold breeze the air conditioner above head made touched her skin and blew on her air. Smiling at the cool feeling, she went to the counter and bought herself the arcade powercard. She looked around the area to find an available spot. Since her favorite arcade game was still occupied by a group of teenagers, she went to the racing section of the arcade.

Mikan sat on an empty seat and swiped her powercard and pressed the red button located above the gear shifter. She didn't know why she looked to her side. It was as if someone told her to just look at it. She saw someone swiping his powercard. She saw his broad hands; the sleeves of his shirt and then her gaze came across his face. She saw those familiar crimson orbs that were showing no emotions and that messy raven hair that seemed to be uncombed since he woke up. _It was Natsume._ She gawked at him unknowingly. She didn't even notice the race was already starting. She snapped back and remembered that she was playing and stomped on the gas. She was racing absent-mindedly. Thoughts of him raced in her mind. What was he doing there? _Duh, he's playing, _she said to herself. Why was she panicking about him being there? Why was she nervous? _What's wrong with her?_ And before she knew it, the race was done with her finishing in second place.

_Who the hell was the first?_

She picked her alias and pressed enter and saw her score beside her name on the second place. She looked at the name of the person who beat her.

_Nat_

"Nat?" She asked herself. Then it came to her as if a sudden spark flickered in the middle of darkness. She glanced at him again. He was still sitting there looking at the screen and she was staring at him again. And without warning, Natsume glanced at her when he felt that there was someone watching him. Their eyes met.

She inhaled abruptly and held her breath. Her mind went blank when she saw his eyes—those apathetic, emotionless eyes. Then she managed to utter an unplanned "Hello" to him. There was a few seconds of silence between them and he replied, "What?"

And with that, she frowned. _That was nice of him, _she thought. She smiled at him, "How are you?" she asked. The guy stared at her with the same expression, not even raising a brow at her. He blinked his apathetic eyes, "Why do you ask?" he asked her. She mentally growled and maintained her calmness and inhaled, "Why won't you answer the question?" she asked back. "You're nosy." He retorted. Her patience snapped. _Please. _She tried to suppress her anger with a smile and spoke, "You're ill-mannered." Mikan felt the corner of her lips twitch. That always happens when she fakes a smile.

"I don't care." He answered coolly.

She still continued to smile despite that her cheeks were getting tired of faking the smile, "Just answer the question," she said, _you appalling creature, _she thought.

"Do I look like I'm not okay?" his expressionless face scowled at her.

"Okay, I'll take that as you're fine."

And there was silence.

"Are you alone?" she asked him. He only nodded in reply. So, he _can _cooperate well. She flashed a genuine smile at him, "Me too," she said, "Where do you live?" she asked him again. And just when she was out of guard, his scowl returned, "None of your business," he said to her. He was harsh. What the hell is wrong with this guy? He could've just said "it's confidential" or something! But she was persistent to know. She doesn't know why but she just does.

Mikan pouts at him, "Oh, come on! Tell me!" she insisted. But when he didn't speak, she continued to pout, "I won't tell anyone, I promise!" she smiled, "I swear in my life I won't tell! You can trust me! I'll just tell anyone if you allow me to tell him or her!" she swore. She was _very_ enthusiastic and eager to know. In her mind, she prayed to God and hoped that he'd tell her. Again, there was silence. Her enthusiasm was still high but her hopes were slowly dispersing. Just when she was about to sigh, he spoke.

"I live several blocks away from here." He said. It wasn't exact but it was still an answer. She was happy that he answered her question even if it wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. At least he trusted her even for a bit and that's what matters, is it not?

"I see. West side or the North?" she asked again. _Just be a little more specific._

"West," he simply answered.

"Oh," she murmured, "How old are you?" with that, she started a conversation with him. She doesn't know why but this person seemed to be protective of his own self but he's revealing himself to her a bit. But that's a good sign right? It wouldn't hurt him for her to know a something about him right? Time passed by and as they conversed about each other, he revealed a little more something about himself to her. Slowly, she also revealed herself to him. They got to random places in the mall, stand at an empty corner and not find it strange to stand there for a while and leave again for another spot. For Mikan, almost everything in the mall suddenly seemed interesting while she talked to him. It wasn't that she was bored of talking to him. There was this feeling in her that she wanted to show him the things and places she found interesting in the mall and go check them out as if it was a new invention. She suddenly saw the mall in a whole new different light.

The two of them didn't notice the time. They were very much enjoying each other's company even though Natsume was sometimes teasing her or trying to annoy her just for fun. They only noticed how dark it was when they saw the glass exit door leading to the sidewalk.

"Wow! It's already _this_ late?" she said as she looked at her cellphone's clock. It read eight P.M.

Natsume scoffed at the time, "It's summer anyway. There's no such thing as _late_." He said.

Mikan laughed a bit, "Oh, there is, Natsume. There is," she smiled at him. He looked at her with a raised brow, his lips forming an unusual curve. She laughed again, "Look I have to go. I hate to go though." She looked at her cellphone. He looked at her with his usual stoic expression. Then she spoke, "I like hanging out with you. I hope we could get to hang out like this all the time this summer!" She looked at him with a bright grin.

It was unexpected of her to tell him that. Natsume's eyes widened but she didn't see it. He inhaled rapidly and held his breath unknowingly. He stared at this girl he just met. Yesterday, he saw her as a stranger; a girl who was like any other girl in the world but, now, she saw her in a new different perspective. What he expected of her to be was wrong. At first, he thought that she was loud, boring and worst of all, girly. But during the course of their getting-to-know conversation, she proved herself to be everything opposite of what he thought she was. Now he learned that she was the listener type, funny, adventurous and boyish. She showed a lot of qualities but there seems to be more unseen features about her.

Mikan growled and almost tore her hair from her scalp, "Uuughh!" she exclaimed in frustration, "I don't want to go but I have to!"

He almost laughed at her. He shook his head at her and crossed his arms, "If you have to go home, then go. I don't need a babysitter." He stuck out his tongue at her.

She frowned and playfully punched his arm, "Whatever!" she smiled at him, "Well, I'll see you soon!" She ran away but halted, "When can we see each other again?" she faced him.

He was silent. She really did have fun hanging out with him. Then he opened his mouth and said, "Tomorrow. We can meet at the arcade again."

Mikan nodded enthusiastically and waved her hand, "Let's meet after lunch! See you at the arcade! Bye Natsume! Take care!" she bid him goodbye and ran away. She threw her skateboard on the ground and headed back home with a steadfast spirit. She was happy—_very happy._ She felt like jumping and shouting. It felt like there was nothing that can upset her—_not even an accident._ When she got home, she greeted her mom happily and hugged her. Yuka noticed her sudden rise of enthusiasm.

"Dear, what happened?" Yuka asked her, looking at the end of the staircase.

"Nothing~" her voice rang from upstairs. Yuka shrugged. _Teenagers._

Mikan almost threw her skateboard at one corner of her room and took off her shoes and socks and threw it on the basket. She lied on the bed with her arms extended on the side. She was smiling widely and her cheeks were already exhausted but she just can't help smiling. Then Yuka called her and asked if she was going to eat dinner. She immediately declined. She wasn't hungry. She was too energized. She looked at the ceiling. Their conversation repeated endlessly in her mind. She tossed herself and stared at her cellphone in her hand. She fiddled with the buttons. _Natsume_, the screen displayed. Below the name was his number. She smiled at the sight of his name.

She was happy and she doesn't why. Was it good that she doesn't? Has she gone insane? She threw all those questions aside and asked herself if he has already gone home; if he was fine; if he was thinking about her too... Whoa! Is this a crush? That can't be… can it? She grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it and squealed and moved her feet. She doesn't know but what she knows is that she's happy that day and her experience was unforgettable. She was excited to wake up the next day but she couldn't sleep. Now that's the problem. Then she thought of something: _What if she texted him? _She wondered if he'd reply. What if he didn't? What would she do? She was hesitating but texted him anyway. It was worth the shot anyway right?

And then she made a text message. She was thinking twice about sending it or not but her thumb moved on its own as if it had its own brain and pressed send. Seeing that it was already sent, she began to sweat. Would he read it and just ignore it? Will he reply? Will he—

Suddenly, her cellphone rang and she almost jumped out of shock. She pressed a button.

**One (1) message received**

Her phone displayed and she pressed read. It opened her inbox and saw it was he who texted. _He replied! Holy cow he replied! _She thought. Mikan opened the message and read it. It read:

_I'm still on my way home. Traffic. Been on the same spot for fifteen minutes._

She could imagine how he would've said that in her ears. She was so happy he replied. She texted him and hoped for him to reply until they sent each other messaged until the time they had to sleep.

The next day when she woke up, she was smiling. Her eyes showed happiness and excitement and her face was glowing. Again, she was alone in their house. She looked at her cellphone hoping that he texted her that morning. But he didn't. But that wasn't going to ruin her day. She was going to meet him!

Mikan shook the thought of him not texting her that morning. She thought that she wasn't his girlfriend anyway. And they were just getting to know each other. Maybe he will text her when they become close friends. At the thought, she headed to the shower and took a long bath and dressed herself with a nice orange shirt and brown capris. She brushed her hair and tied it in to a pigtail with an orange ribbon and put on her orange sandals and grabbed her backpack and skateboard. Then she rushed downstairs and out the door and rode her skateboard and headed towards the mall. She was excited. She wondered about what would happen when she sees him.

**END OF CHAPTER 2**

**PLEASE READ!**

**Announcement:**

**Chapter 3 will be available a little bit later. Succeeding chapters are on hiatus. Updates may be slow due to the load of work given to the author. Please be patient.**

**Criticism is appreciated… just don't be too harsh on me. –laughs- Oh and please post a comment or a review on every chapter so I can manage on what to put on the next chapter. It will help me improve the story. Don't forget to rate the chapter too!**

**Thesaurus:**

**Trajectory**

**Meaning: Route**

**Synonyms: Route; course; flight; path; line; arc; curve; trail; trace; track**

**Appalling**

**Meaning: Awful; horrifying**

**Synonyms: awful; terrible; dreadful; horrendous; inexcusable; unspeakable; atrocious; abysmal**

**Antonym: wonderful**

**Scowl**

**Meaning: glare**

**Synonyms: glare; frown; glower; grimace; stare; pout; dirty look; black look**

**Antonym: smile**

**Unknowingly**

**Meaning: Naively**

**Synonyms: naively; innocently; mistakenly; unwittingly; accidentally; unintentionally; unsuspectingly; inadvertently**

**Antonym: deliberately**

**Did I miss anything (from letters down to the thesaurus)? Mistakes (spelling, grammar)? If I did, do tell me. I will acknowledge and revise the chapter to correct the mistake/s for future readers.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice (Eng: Alice Academy)**

****This fan fiction/story is purely fictional. Any scenes written related to anyone or anything is purely coincidental. It does not aim to mock, hurt or any of the like. If it were related to anyone, it would only be related to the author (raiithel). Thank you.**

**For maximum understanding of the flow of the story, reading everything and not skipping words/paragraphs is advised. Misreading of some paragraphs might get you confused.**

**WARNING: This story contains foul language.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

MIKAN ARRIVED earlier than the agreed time. She sat on a steel bench at the middle of the mall and waited there. She watched people pass by. Many things ran in her mind. Her mind wandered away. From Natsume to what they'd do and what his other interests to other stuff she thinks would be related to him and back to Natsume again. As she was thinking, time passed by quickly and it was already the time she and Natsume meet. She was staring nowhere when suddenly two bodies stood in front of her. She didn't notice until she heard a familiar voice. She looked up and saw Natsume with a blonde friend.

"Oh, hey!" she stood up immediately. Her eyes glanced at Natsume and then the blonde guy and then back at Natsume.

"Hey," Natsume greeted with not more than a tone of greeting, "I brought Ruka. I hope you don't mind him staying with us the whole day." He said, referring to his blonde friend behind him.

Mikan looked at the blonde guy and smiled as she waved, "Hello!" she greeted and the man greeted her back.

Natsume faced Ruka and introduced Mikan to him, "Ruka, this is the person I was talking about."

Mikan frowned. _Person? _Ouch! That suddenly hit her head hard. Why didn't he just say "girl"? But first, why was she so affected? It's not like they're boyfriend-girlfriend. _They're just friends._

Natsume's friend smiled and waved at her. She smiled at him, "Hi I'm Mikan! Nice to meet you!"

"And I'm Ruka. Ruka Nogi." The man smiled.

She doesn't know why but she blushed. She doesn't know what to do either. Would she smile or what? What the hell? She held out her hand for him. He took it and they shook hands.

"Natsume," Ruka said, "I think I'm gonna go in a bit. I promised my mom I'd get her later on. My dad's coming back this evening." He said.

Mikan looked at him. She was kind of disappointed. Natsume just nodded at his friend and the corner of his lips raised a bit, "Say hi to your folks for me." He said.

Whoa, whoa, _whoa! _Did Natsume just _smile_? Mikan's eyes widened. She wasn't sure of what she saw. She blinked and saw that Natsume wasn't smiling at all. What the bloody hell? Were her eyes playing tricks with her or did his smile just disappear when she blinked? _Curse you blinking!_

For a while, they walked around the mall, window shopped for whatever reason they couldn't identify and ate ice cream. While they were walking around looking at random things they could see at the mall, Ruka stopped and looked at his watch. It was already 2 P.M. He looked at them with apology visible in his expression and action, "I'm sorry guys but I have to go now." He said. Natsume nodded at him and Mikan smiled at him, "You take care, Ruka! It was nice meeting you!" she grinned. Ruka smiled and nodded at her, "You too!" then he waved goodbye and went.

They're alone now. _So what's the plan?_

Mikan looked up at Natsume and tugged his shirt like a little sister. He looked at her. Her big round eyes looked right into his soul. His brows drew together as his lips drew a small line across his face, "What?" he asked. She frowned at him, "You're being mean again."

"What do you want, little girl?" he raised a brow at her.

She smiled widely, "Can we get more ice cream?"

"What? More? You already have a double scoop of chocolate ice cream." He looked at her implausibly, "Not t mention it was a Belgian cone.." he smirked, teasing her.

"Fine!" she puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms and turned away from him, "Then no!" she stomped away, "Let's go." She said with a little bit of vehemence. He just shrugged his shoulders and followed her. She was still ahead of him because he let her went ahead and let her cool her head off. He knew she would calm down eventually. While they were making their way around the mall, Mikan was looking at the windows of boutiques they were passing by. There were things she dismissed and things she stared at for a long time. Gradually, he knew about her despise against the color pink. She would quickly grimace at the sight of the color. She would sneer at the sight of a stiletto or any high-heeled shoes with high thin heels. Though, her eyes would glisten at the sight of what girls call a "wedge".

While she was still ahead of him, they passed by a group of girls wearing mini skirts. One of them wore a micro mini skirt. He rolled his eyes away from them and looked at the brunette taking giant steps. She wasn't stomping but she wasn't casually walking either. He saw her look at the girls. She had a disgusted look on her face. He almost laughed at the horrid look on her face. She turned her head away from them and looked for something more interesting. He followed her when she went inside a boutique but a very discreet and exasperating screech was suddenly heard. _Oh no,_ he thought. _It was his rabid fan girls_.

He was looking for a place to go but the girls crowded around him already and were grabbing his shirt everywhere. They were trying to pull him down to their side and get things from both of his pockets. He tried to escape the mob. These rabid fan girls were _everywhere_! There was no choice but run to practically anywhere he can. He started to run. The girls were still grabbing his shirt; his collar went to his neck and almost choked him. He had to endure it. He growls to himself. _Why in all of places?_ **Why the mall!?**

Mikan went out of the boutique and noticed the discreet noise the fan girls made while they were running after Natsume. She gasped. _Girls._ They can be so irritating. What kind of girl of would run after a guy inside a mall? Clearly, it was **their** kind. She wanted to help. But what could she do? If she just goes in that insane mob of fan girls, she would be easily thrown aside. She sighed with a little growl. She ran after them and ran as fast as she could so she can overtake them and catch up with Natsume. _Never mind the girls. Natsume is what matters,_ she thought. When she finally caught up with him, she tapped him, "Hey!" he looked at her, "I have a plan!" she said to him. Without hesitation, Natsume just agreed. All he wanted as to get away from the crazies running after him.

They lured the fan girls around the mall and finally, for their finale, they both went in in a closing elevator. They squeezed their way in and the doors closed. They could hear loud banging sound coming from the girls and distinctly disappeared as they went a few floors up. They laughed themselves to tears as they tried their best to catch their breath but their laughter always stole the oxygen away. They went out the elevator at the 5th floor. They were still laughing so hard that they had to support themselves by going to a bench and continue laughing there.

"That was funny!" Mikan said in-between laughs.

Natsume didn't respond. He just continued to laugh. Mikan looked at him while still laughing but her laughter faded when she saw his face. That flawless face, his pearly white teeth showing, his cheeks formed a curve, as did his lips. Her gaze crept up to his eyes, his crimson-colored eyes that previously showed apathy now showed something so different. She couldn't explain it but it wasn't apathy. There was joy but there was something more than joy and she couldn't pinpoint what it was. His aura felt light. The heavy aura she felt yesterday was gone. She stared at him and her lips slowly formed a caring smile.

He was still laughing and then he saw her. She was smiling at him. He was going to frown again but he saw her eyes glisten and her pinkish cheeks, her skin glowing and her lips… her pink kissable lips that formed an upward curve at him. He also noticed her hair. It was silky and shiny and a bit curly at the end. He stared at her; she stared at him. That moment, it was like they were the only two persons there in the area. The connection broke when the mall radio commercial came on.

Mikan looked at her hands. Natsume looked at another direction. There was an awkward moment of silence between them. She held one of her pigtails and ran her fingers through it. She was nervous, _but why?_ She tried to look at him but her eyes couldn't help but look away. Then he heard his voice. She looked at him. His eyes stared right through her soul. Her cheeks felt warm.

"Where do you want to eat?" he asked.

"Huh?" she said absentmindedly.

"Where do you want to eat for dinner?" he asked again without a trace of annoyance.

"Um, anywhere, why?" she asked.

"Nothing. My treat." He stood up, leaving her behind.

She looked at him still and only realized she was getting left behind when she was a couple of meters away from him.

"Hey! Wait for me!" she ran after him.

Mikan finally caught up with him and they searched for a restaurant. Since the local restaurants weren't his type, they went to KFC. They both ordered a one-piece chicken with rice and a glass of coke but Natsume added a doubledown for himself. While they were eating, Mikan looked at him. He was one fast eater. He ate the chicken and the rice in just five minutes and she was just about to finish only half way.

"You sure are hungry." She chuckled.

He frowned at her, "No. You're just slow."

"No, you're just hungry." She repeated.

"No, you're just slow. Slowpoke." He took a bite from the doubledown.

"No, I'm not slow! You eat like a hog." She laughed.

"Hog?" he repeated mockingly, "Please, if I was a hog, all those girls wouldn't be running after me." He smirked.

"You eat like a hog, hog." She grinned at him.

"Pfft, even if I eat like a hog, I don't get fat and all flabby like other men out there." He said proudly.

"Yeah but you're so full of air that you can actually cause a typhoon!" she laughed at him.

He frowned even more that his brows were almost connected but his frown turned into a smirk, "That's okay. At least I'm not _as _ugly as _you_."

She gasped, "What did you say!?" she frowned at him, grabbed her plate and went to a different table. She was still frowning and continued to frown as she ate. He just looked at her as she ate. He felt a bit bad about it. A bit? Damn, he felt _really _bad about it. He admitted to himself that he was wrong. She wasn't ugly at all. She also makes him feel so carefree and light. He felt that he could talk about anything to her. It also felt that he knew her for a long time already because of the openness he feels. Earlier he wasn't that open because he was forcing himself not to be open. But there was this side about him that wants him to be open to her. He actually felt that he want to become even closer to her.

He scanned her again. Her face, her skin, her eyes, her nose, her lips, her hair, her—!

"Oh, Natsume, you're here!" a voice rang.

He turned to see who it was. He saw long black wavy hair that rest on full bosoms. The woman wore a white cropped top that exposed her mocha-colored skin. He saw her blue eyes sparkle and her lips formed a smile.

Natsume stood up. He was surprised to see _her_ there.

"Oh hey," he said with a small smile.

"Hi Natsume! What are you doing here all alone?" she asked.

He shook his head, still smiling, "No. I'm with a friend."

Mikan continued to eat with a frown. She was about to scoop rice when Natsume suddenly called her. She was going to say "what" with irritation when suddenly she saw a dark haired girl beside him. _She's a pretty lady,_ she thought.

"Yeah?" she said calmly.

"I want you to meet Jun" Natsume introduced.

The dark haired girl waved at her.

"She's a close friend." He added.

Mikan's eyes widened a bit. _Close friend?_

**END OF CHAPTER 2**

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**PLEASE READ!**

**Announcement:**

**Chapter 4 will be available a little bit later. Succeeding chapters are on hiatus. Updates may be slow due to the load of work given to the author. Please be patient.**

**Criticism is appreciated… just don't be too harsh on me. –laughs- Oh and please post a comment or a review on every chapter so I can manage on what to put on the next chapter. It will help me improve the story. Don't forget to rate the chapter too!**

**About the thesaurus: I'm sorry. I won't be able to put it because I'm too lazy xDD I hope you forgive me :( you can use the context clue technique if you don't know the meaning of the word :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice (Eng: Alice Academy)**

****This fan fiction/story is purely fictional. Any scenes written related to anyone or anything is purely coincidental. It does not aim to mock, hurt or any of the like. If it were related to anyone, it would only be related to the author (raiithel). Thank you.**

**For maximum understanding of the flow of the story, reading everything and not skipping words/paragraphs is advised. Misreading of some paragraphs might get you confused.**

**WARNING: This story contains foul language.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

MIKAN'S eyes widened a bit. _Close friend?_

She stared at the girl called Jun. For some reason, she lost her enthusiasm to eat. Just staring at a very beautiful girl—stunningly beautiful—makes her lose her appetite. So what if she _is_ stunning? She has seen many pretty girls like her—some were even prettier! But what is it in this girl that just made her lose her enthusiasm—not just in eating, but also in staying there. She feels something weird in her stomach. No, she doesn't need to go to the bathroom. It was uneasy and horrible. Her chest feels a weird and heavy pounding as if Thor's overwhelmingly heavy hammer is resting on it. She didn't move. She just held her spoon and fork there on her now clammy hands while gawking at _her_ with a slightly opened mouth.

Natsume looked at Jun. He smiled at her again.

With that, Mikan's lips tightened to a small straight line. She tried her best not to make it so obvious though. She even tried smiling. _Hell, when did smiling become a burden to her? _ She tried grinning instead.

_**Fail.**_

It was a bad-to-average looking smile. _Damn it. What's taking him so long to stop smiling at that girl!_ She thought he'd never finish smiling at _that girl. _He finally looked at her now, but without the smile. It annoyed her. He introduced her to Jun. The girl waved at her again. She waved back trying to smile as best as she could.

After that, Jun faced Natsume and talked to him as if Mikan wasn't even there. For the first few minutes, Mikan didn't mind._ Maybe she's from a far place and went here for a vacation or something,_ Mikan thought. Maybe they haven't seen each other for a long time and that that was the only time they can talk or something, she thought again, trying to convince her self. She mentally slapped herself, _what the hell? Why was she thinking that way? _Was she jealous? Is she jealous that _they_ are closer than _them? _

The next few minutes weren't so okay. She was getting irritated at being ignored by both of them. Mikan felt that she was the third-person in their group. Hell no! _She _was the third person in the group. In the first place, _she's _**not** with them! It was **only** she and Natsume. Only them un—

"Aaahh!"

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" The dark haired girl apologized to her.

Mikan held the side of her head, feeling the wetness of it. Ices were on her lap and the smell of coke went in her nostrils. Her shoulders, arms and back were wet with the cold soft drink. Pearls of brown dripped down her nose and arms. Everyone stared at her. She wasn't sure what to express, what to do or what to say.

"I'm so sorry!" Jun repeated as she grabbed her handkerchief and wipes the coke away from her face.

She tried to smile as beautifully as she could and crack an "I'm fine." _Even though I'm not,_ she thought.

Mikan stood up, letting the ices from her lap fall on the floor. She continued to smile and fixed herself. Before anything happens again, she walked as calmly as she could to the public CR and fixed her hair. She smelled sweet and her scalp felt sticky.

Then she looked at the mirror and looked at how much of a mess she looks. She just did so much as a frown and bowed down and washed her head with water. It was a good thing she brought along two handkerchiefs. She dried her hair with one and uses the other to clean her arms and shoulders. Then she went out of the CR and saw Natsume and Jun talking. The girl was practically laughing during their conversation. She frowned. _That devil, _she thought. Thinking that Natsume doesn't want to bother seeing how she is, Mikan decided to leave. She went out the door swiftly without them noticing her go.

Meanwhile, Natsume was trying to end the conversation with his old friend. For five damn times, he tried to stand and go in front of the ladies' CR. But Jun always grabs his arm and shoves him back down. She's making new topics, asking him things with those big, sparkling eyes. She's laughing as if everything he says were interesting and humorous. Again, he was trying to end the conversation. He frowned at her this time.

"I need to go. Bye." He said and stood up quickly but she was just too fast for him. This girl was full of confidence. She doesn't fear anything; she doesn't show respect for those who she thinks she doesn't need to give respect to. If she doesn't like a person, she'd dismiss that person immediately. Years back before she met Natsume, she has dumped every suitor she doesn't see fit. The only guy she didn't dump was Natsume… but that was because he didn't court her. She was the one who came to him. He just took her and only saw her as any other girl.

She pulled him back down and laughs, "Oh, Natsume! You're so funny! I know you missed me." She said confidently, "You don't have to pretend you have to go just so I'd stay here."

_Trust me, I wouldn't if I __**want**__ you here, _he thought.

He wanted to threaten her that time but what's in his entire mind was only to go after Mikan when he saw her leave without saying goodbye. His eyes gazed at the door under his bangs and made an escape. He ran and ran to the far distance until he's in the crowd. He heard a distinct voice calling him. _Ha!_ That should show her not to force the great Natsume Hyuuga.

Upon standing in the middle of a large crowd, he glanced to look for Mikan. He thought of which exit she might be going. Then he remembered. _Mikan lives north of the mall. _He ran to the northern part of the mall without hesitation and looked for her. He waited for her near the exit. He was slowly losing hope.

_Maybe she went home, _he thought. He frowned again and turned for the door but he saw her image at the corner of his eye. He turned his head before he could step out. Oh joys! It **is **Mikan! He doesn't know why but his chest tightened. It wasn't a bad thing because it didn't hurt. It actually felt nice. Thinking that he was feeling strange again for the second time he's been with her, he dismissed the thought and went to her. Out of so much joy, he doesn't know which emotion to show—if he still wants to show his emotionless self, smile or frown, so he just decided to frown a bit. _Just a little bit._

He saw her damp hair falling to her back and bosoms. Her shoulders were wet. He figured that she applied damp cloth on it to remove the sugar. He looked at her chocolate eyes that stared at his bloody-red ones. There was this connection between them that felt different. It felt different for him because his chest tightened again. He felt that tight yet light feeling again. He was going to speak but she avoided his gaze.

_What the hell was that?_

Why would she avoid his eye contact? Does she hate him now? Why would she hate him? It was Jun who stopped him from going to her. Okay, maybe it was partly his fault for not forcing himself to go to her. But what can he do? He's against this girl who's obviously dying for him.

He stared at her. His heart tightened and this time it was painful. The seconds felt like minutes to him. He wanted to turn around and be his rude self again but he couldn't. It was like his feet were glued on that very place. Then he managed to speak.

"Are you okay?"

_What a stupid question, dumbass._

She nodded, "Yeah…"

He inhaled, "I'm going to take you home. Where do you live?" he asked.

She smiled at him, "No, no!" she waved her hands in hesitation, "I can go there by myself." She said.

His face was firm, "No. _I'm _taking you to your house." He held her wrist and almost dragged her to the parking lot.

She looked at him furiously, "What the hell!? Natsume! Let go of me!" she demanded. But he didn't listen. He still brought her to his car and opened the front passenger seat for her. He pointed inside it telling her to go in.

Obediently, she went in and sat. She was frowning as she put on the seatbelt. As soon as he got in, he started the car and drove to the north. It was quiet. There was an awkward silence between them. Mikan looked outside the window looking for something interesting to look at. It started to rain. She looked at the traces of the water on her side of the window. Then she looked at the people walking down the sidewalk. If Natsume hadn't forced her that he's going to take her home, she'd be wet. She owes him one.

_I look at her and have to smile_

_As we go driving for a while_

_Her hair blowing in the_

_Open window of my car and_

_As we go the traffic lights_

_Watch them glimmer in her eyes_

_In the darkness of the evening_

Natsume had turned on his player. She didn't mind. She knows the song so she sang along with it. He looked at her when the traffic light was red. She was still staring out in the busy sidewalk. He stared at her back. Her hair was still down and it almost reached her waist. She was staring at random people. For once in his life, he found staring at a girl amusing. He doesn't know why but he just finds it amusing. _Her _at least.

_And I've got all that I need_

_Right here in the passenger seat_

_Oh and I can't keep my eyes on the road_

_Knowing that she's inches from me_

It was a green light again. He hit the gas and drove ahead. He always drives quickly whether he's in a hurry or not. But that time, he wanted to slow down—like they're cruising on the countryside. He wanted to stare at her long and good.

_We stopped to get something to drink_

_My mind pounds and I can't think_

_Scared to death to say I love her_

_Then a moon peeks from the clouds_

_Hear my heart that beats so loud_

_Try to tell her simply_

"Do you even know where I live?"

_RIGHT. Why didn't he think of that before he offered to take her home?_

He smirked, "Well, where do you live?"

"Ten blocks down. Then turn right." She pointed at the road.

He drove slowly. _Damn! He wants to stare at her so bad!_

_That I've got all that I need_

_Right here in the passenger seat_

_Oh I can't keep my eyes on the road_

_Knowing that she's inches from me_

Mikan continued to stare out the window. She looked at the people inside the coffee shops, ice cream parlors, local restaurants and the people on the sidewalk. She got even more amused when she saw a man walking his dog. She practically smiled widely and squealed her heart out.

"Look a Chow chow!" she exclaimed in joy, "It's so **adorable**!" she added

_Oh I've got all that I need_

_Right here in the passenger seat_

_Oh and I can't keep my eyes on the road_

_Knowing that she's inches from me_

He looked at her and he saw the expression on her face. She followed the sight of the Chow chow with her head. She squealed again when she turned her head to him. Her eyes were big and sparkly; her cheeks were pink and her lips formed a big and wide smile.

His eyes widened a bit. He unconsciously held his breath and his heart started beating incredibly fast again. Mikan began to talk about how cute Chow chows were and how she loves them a lot and how much she wanted one.

_Oh and I know this love grow_

He shook his head a bit and looked at the road again. He felt it again—the heavy feeling. His heartbeat didn't slow down. The last time he felt that way was when he fell in love for the first time with his first girlfriend. But she didn't really feel the same way. They were together for three years and for their last one year; she wasn't interested in him anymore; they argued a lot more. He was getting tired of her demands and finally, he was able to break up with her and when he slept, for the first time in one year he felt free again. From that day on, he never felt any intensity for a girl until the day he shared a whole day with _her… _with Mikan.

But he denied that he was having a crush on her. It might only be a friendly adoration, he thought. It's nothing _too _emotional—at least it's not _love_. He doesn't care if he's single forever. He loves the feeling of freedom. He immediately dismissed the thought that he's having a crush on her and thought that she's just getting close to him like Ruka.

Natsume steered to the right and Mikan pointed at a house.

"There. That's where I live." She said.

He stopped in front of it and unlocked the doors. It was still raining so he got his umbrella and got out to shade her from the rain. He accompanied her to the doorstep. He was a little bit wet and so was she.

Mikan knocked on the door and faced him, "Hey Natsume," she called, "thanks for today." She smiled. He blinked, looking at her. "I had fun." She added.

He didn't speak. The door opened. Yuka immediately saw him and her eyes sparkled, "Hello~" she greeted.

"Good evening." He greeted back.

For Mikan it always felt awkward introducing a guy to her mom. Also, this is a first for her to be assisted by a new friend to her home. They were quiet but suddenly, Yuka invited Natsume in because it rained harder.

"It's raining harder. You might want to go in." she smiled at him.

Natsume wanted to hesitate but the look on Yuka's face was just so insisting that he went in anyway. He was invited to the living room as Mikan changed her clothes to her house clothes and joined him. Yuka came to them carrying a tray of fish crackers, vinegar and milk (to neutralize the vinegar).

Yuka sat beside Mikan. Natsume smiled a bit, "Hello miss. I'm Natsume." He introduced himself. Mikan stared at her hand then at him. She was nervous. _Oh damn, _she thought.

"Ohh~! I'm Mikan's mom and my name's Yuka~! Nice to meet you Natsume~" Yuka grinned at him. She looks like Mikan, he thought.

For a short while they talked. And when Natsume had to go, they saw it was already flooding outside. _He was stranded._

"Oh dear! It's flooded!" Yuka said and looked at him, "Dear, I insist you stay for the night." She said.

He was dumbstruck. What? He's staying? _Damn. _It's not that he's scared of getting stranded or his mom—she's not home. Hell, he's not scared of anything but why was it that he's nervous? Is it even nervousness?

**END OF CHAPTER 4**

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**PLEASE READ!**

**I LOVE YOU GUYS FOR THE FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS AND THE VIEWS! Oh and that only person to review, thanks sooo much. xD it's really not bad?**

**Do review :3 I want to know what you guys think about my story. **

**Announcement:**

**Chapter 5 will be available a little bit later. Succeeding chapters are on hiatus. Updates may be slow due to the load of work given to the author. Please be patient.**

**Criticism is appreciated… just don't be too harsh on me. –laughs- **

**No thesaurus for this chappy~! No hard words, aye? :3 Since I don't have any classes tomorrow, I might be doing chapter 5~!**

**I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try my best to do better ones. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice (Eng: Alice Academy)**

****This fan fiction/story is purely fictional. Any scenes written related to anyone or anything is purely coincidental. It does not aim to mock, hurt or any of the like. If it were related to anyone, it would only be related to the author (raiithel). Thank you.**

**For maximum understanding of the flow of the story, reading everything and not skipping words/paragraphs is advised. Misreading of some paragraphs might get you confused.**

**WARNING: This story contains foul language.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

"OH DEAR! IT'S FLOODED!" Yuka said and looked at him, "Dear, I insist you stay for the night." She said.

He was dumbstruck. What? He's staying? _Damn. _It's not that he's scared of getting stranded or his mom—she's not home. Hell, he's not scared of anything but why was it that he's nervous? Is it even nervousness?

Natsume looked at his car. He was trying to think of excuses not to stay but a part of him didn't want to go. He inhaled, swallowed and exhaled before he looked at them calmly. Mikan thought he was worried that his mom might get mad at him. She grabbed the wireless telephone sitting on a small oak table. She gave it to him. She looked at him, insisting that he should stay. It was as if her expression was telling him that she'd let him stay rather than getting him stranded in the middle of a flooded road or worse—get him in an accident.

"Here," she said, "You can call your mom."

He looked at her with his usual expression and before he could speak, Yuka smiled at him and said: "If there's any trouble regarding your mom, I can talk to her."

He smiled curtly, "Don't worry Mrs. Sakura. My mom wouldn't worry."

Yuka's eyes widened a bit, "Why wouldn't she?"

"She's in California right now." He answered.

"Oh.. I see..." she nodded slowly, "What about your father?"

"He's with mom."

"So you're living alone?" Mikan asked this time.

He simply nodded.

"I take it that your parents send you money for financial support." She had her big round eyes looking at him. He nodded.

Yuka clasped her hands together and smiled at them, "Well then Natsume, welcome to our home~! You can make this your second home! Feel at home~!" she said brightly and glanced at them both, "So do want to eat something? Cookies? Milk? Nachos?"

He smiled and simply waved his hands as he shook his head, "Thank you but no. We already ate Mrs. Sakura."

Mikan was looking at him the whole time. She saw how his expressions transitioned; how his lips curve to a gentle smile that gives out a certain glow to the wholeness of him. She noticed how handsome he really was when he smiled at her mom. _Damn, he was __**handsome **__all right. _Anna and Nonoko weren't kidding when they said he was very handsome. She wondered if how many girls fell for him. Then she remembered: _Fan girls in the mall._ She winced at remembering how it went. That entire running was exhausting! Not to mention all _those _fan girls' determination—They have an extremely intolerable and highly annoying magnitude of determination. Oh, and let's not forget that they were determined to grab him and get a feel of his…his body.

"Well then," Yuka said a bit louder which made Mikan look at her and lose her focus on Natsume, "I have to go upstairs now. Good night." She said and went up the stairs to her room.

"Good night Mrs. Sakura." He said plainly and they heard the door open and shut.

They were alone now.

He glanced around the lobby and scanned it. It was a really nice place, he thought. The place was clean; it truly has a mother's touch to it. There were flower printed curtains, the wall was cream white, the chairs in the living room were simple yet elegant-looking were on a lavender colored carpet. In the middle of the set of chairs stood a short, rectangular glass table with a vase full of plastic and real roses. The television with modern looking speakers standing beside it was just near the set. The ceilings have designs too. Each room had different designs that were captivating.

"Hey," Mikan called him, "wanna take a tour?"

"Sure."

Mikan showed him around the house. She told him some house rules that should always be applied like 'no loud music after 6 P.M.', 'put back things where you got them' and other simple rules. Then, she showed him where he was going to sleep in. It was a nice guest room. On one corner, a single bed that has a white bed sheet and royal green blanket on top of it and lying on top of the blanket are two fluffy rectangular pillows—one was for the head and the other for 'hugging' issues. Sitting beside the bed was an oak side-table drawer with a lamp sitting on top of it. The wardrobe was just across it. Natsume noticed that what he was stepping on was a cold white marbled floor that had a big lush green carpet lying on it. There was also a private bathroom complete with a shower stall, sink and toilet. With all that, it made him think that they were very hospitable people—especially Mikan's mom.

Natsume went to the wardrobe and opened it for no reason. He saw men's clothes hanging on a rack in the right half of the wardrobe and clothes that were neatly folded in a pile on each shelf. There were three shelves—at the top were hats and scarves; on the second shelf were shirts, tank tops, undershirts and other kinds of tops that needed folding; on the third shelf were pants. He noticed that belts also hand on a hook on the door of the wardrobe and unpolished shoes sat at the bottom of the racked clothes.

"Those are my dad's…" she said.

He looked at her. She was staring at the clothes. Then he looked at her eyes—it was full of sorrow, pain and lonliness. He closed the wardrobe when she turned away. She said he could borrow them for the meantime.

"What about your mom?" he asked.

"She wouldn't mind.." she said.

He raised a brow, "Are you sure? Let's ask your mom first." He motioned to the door but Mikan held his wrist, "NO!" she shouted.

He looked at her and their eyes met. She let go of his wrist and held her hands together instead and looked at her feet, "I'm sorry…" she apologized.

Natsume gazed down on her. He was smart and immediately got the point. She doesn't want her mom to remember about her dad. He doesn't know what it was but he was sure it was about what his dad did or what happened to him. He walked towards the door, "It's 7 P.M." he said. She looked at him reluctantly, "H-huh?"

She saw his expression. It was different and new to her. He had a brow raised and his lips formed an unusual curve and his hand was on his hip. She blinked.

"Don't you watch Adventure Time?" he asked.

"Adventure Time?" she asked back.

"You _don't_ _know_ Adventure Time?" Natsume's eyes widened, horrified of the thought that a person—a teenager—doesn't know what Adventure Time is.

Mikan's memory snapped, "Oh! That show on Cartoon Network!" she blurted and the negative aura around her dispersed.

"Yes," he said, "_That_ show."

He went out first and she followed. They went to the living room to watch Adventure Time on Cartoon Network. It was still commercial so Mikan grabbed two bags of chips and gave one to Natsume. The advisory came on when she sat down and then the intro.

Mikan gasped aloud and squealed, "Oh my gosh! It's—it's the Fionna and Cake episode!" she almost shouted.

He looked at her as he munched on three pieces of chips at a time. He was amused when she began talking about Marshall Lee and how adorable he was. Then he even got more amused when Mikan leaned back on the pillows and moved her hands and feet as she squealed excitedly.

He watched with her.

But then, there were moments when he'd unconsciously glance at her just to see how she looks like while watching. She was so into watching that episode. She was leaning forward with her elbows on her thighs and her eyes were all big and sparkly. Marshall Lee suddenly shows up, floating in mid air and floats his way across Fionna's sight.

Mikan squealed.

"MARSHALL LEEEEEE!"

Natsume laughed then looked at her and continued to laugh. Mikan looked at him. _Was she really that funny? _She stared at him with a pout and noticed something.

"I just realized that you look like Marshall Lee." She said.

He stopped laughing, "Say what?"

Her eyes twinkled, "You look like Marshall Lee…"

He leaned away from her, "Don't give me that look. It's creepy."

"But I can't help it."

"Quit it, little girl."

_That did it._

Mikan inhaled and looked at him with all her dignity and frowned a bit and then…

"BITE MY BIG TOE!" she shouted at him. And there was silence.

Natsume was looking at her with shock and she frowned at him. A few more moments of silence and then they laughed together. And since they laughed so hard that they were both red and exhausted and their stomachs hurt like hell. They tried breathing in-between laughs but no use. They'd still laugh anyway and use up all the oxygen they inhale.

"Oh God…" Mikan tried halting her laughter but wasn't working successfully. She continued to laugh and let out "pfff" and "hkhk" sounds.

Natsume managed to regain his composure but his lips were trembling, "Ehem.." he fake-coughed.

"I haven't laugh like that for a long time." he said.

She looked at him. She wondered when was the last time he laughed with his friends. She examined his features and felt her lips curve to a smile.

"Well it's nice to laugh _that_ hard once in a while." She said.

He looked at his bag of chips, "Yeah…"

She continued to stare at him. He glanced at her. Their eyes met. There was an awkward silence between them.

"W-we should sleep." She said, "We had a long day and you need to rest. You're probably more tired than I am." She stood up and threw the empty bag of chips.

Natsume just looked at her and followed. They went upstairs. The door to Mikan's room was just across the guest room door. Mikan opened the door to her room and faced him. She was smiling, "Goodnight Natsume. I had fun today. Sleep well."

He blinked and smiled curtly, "Same."

They both went in.

Mikan threw herself on the bed and hugged a turtle pillow. She remembered what happened the whole day and how unexpected the 'sleepover' was. She felt happy and nervous at the same time. She remembered how his expressions transitioned and that it was her first time seeing him smile and laugh. She thought of how handsome and cute he was. And what she couldn't get out of her head was the fact that he looks like Marshall Lee.

Then she wondered if he was already asleep or if he was still awake; was he doing the same thing as she's doing? Was he still awake and staring at the wall or the ceiling? She grabbed her cellphone from the bedside table and went through the contacts list.

Meanwhile, Natsume just finished washing his face. He was now wearing a white tank top and black plaid boxer shorts. He turned on the lamp and lied down. He looked at the ceiling. What a day he had! Mikan then the fan girls and then Jun. Well not that Mikan's a bad thing but she _did_ make him feel hopeless and…confused. He inhaled deeply. What was in this girl that made him feel this way? She makes him feel happy and fulfilled; thankful yet despising; apathetic yet caring. It doesn't make sense anymore! What the hell is in this girl that's—!

His thoughts were cut off when his cellphone vibrated. Someone was calling him. He picked it up and looked at the almost-blinding bright LCD. When he saw who it was, his lips formed a one-sided smile. It was _her._

He answered the call and didn't say anything.

"_Hey Natsume, I can't sleep."_

"Me too." He said to her.

"_Can we talk? I mean like, on the roof?"_

"Yeah but can we? Wouldn't your mom—"

"_If we stay quiet, she won't suspect a thing."_

"Fine."

"_Can I come in now?"_

"Yeah."

The door opened and it revealed Mikan wearing a blue baggy shirt and short shorts—so short that it was almost covered by her shirt. He sat up straight and watched her open the window near his bed.

"Be careful while climbing okay?" she said to him as she stepped out of the window to a large tree branch. He followed her and stepped on what she stepped to make sure he wouldn't make a mistake. They climbed on that large tree and made their way to the roof. They sat and looked at the bright crescent moon. It was cloudless and they could see the stars twinkling brightly.

Natsume looked at her. She was looking at the moon.

"Why can't you sleep?" he asked.

"I don't know…" she replied.

"Maybe you just need to drink milk or something." He looked at the moon.

"It never works." She smiled.

They chatted for a while about their social life and a little bit of love life. Natsume tried to avoid it as much as possible. They knew a little more about each other. Mikan found out that Natsume had three ex-es and the last relationship he had lasted for three years while Natsume found out that she had ex-es too but they all fooled her. He frowned when she was telling a story about her last ex. How could someone so heartless be with a sweet girl like her? How dare he hurt her! One day when he get his hands on that asshole, he's going to break his bones and make him crawl his way back home.

"But that's ancient history. I don't give a damn about him anymore. I forgave him a long time ago." She grinned at him.

_That asshole ruined her life and she still forgives him? I will __**really**__ break the bones of that guy. Those nerves of him, _he thought.

Mikan yawned, "I'm tired…"

Natsume felt himself yawn too, "Let's go to sleep…"

They climbed back down the roof and the tree and went in the guest room. Mikan wobbled her way out.

"Goodnight Natsume… sweet dreams." She yawned and closed the door.

Natsume blinked and smiled at the door. That girl…that girl never fails to get his interest. He lied down and turned off the lamp and stared into the darkness. He wondered what was going to happen that next day. He imagined the next day as a wonderful one that he was with Mikan again; that he was going to spend the whole day with her again and that they were going to go somewhere else other than their neighborhood and the mall. He continued to imagine the morrow until he fell asleep and dreamt of it.

**END OF CHAPTER 5**

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**PLEASE READ!**

**Sorry for the late update. Finals week was so stressing! We also had to pass projects. The deadlines were really deadly. Almost died there.**

**Please DO send me a review or a message or whatever you're comfortable with to tell me what you think or if you noticed an error. It would really help me a lot with the story. Thank you to all my supporters! :'D it means so MUCH TO ME!**

**Oh and BTW, are there any Marshall Lee fans out there? :D JOIN THE CLUB! :D**

**Announcement:**

**Chapter 6 will be available a little bit more later than this one. Succeeding chapters are on hiatus. Updates may be slow due to the load of work given to the author. Please be patient.**

**Criticism is appreciated… just don't be too harsh on me. –laughs-**

**No thesaurus for this chappy too! :D yay! Second term about to start D: dayumm…. Anyways, take care everyone!**

**I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try my best to do better ones.**


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